Act—act now, as soon as you get back to the office on the three key takeaways from any conference you attend.
You’ve taken the time away from the office, sifting through the sessions to spark ideas, and now it’s time to translate them to achievable and worthwhile goals for the coming year.
That was the message as the annual Excel 401(k): The Advisors Conference in Las Vegas wrapped Tuesday afternoon with a close look at efficiency, productivity and the prioritization of each in reaching annual objectives.
Tilted “The Big 3: Making Key Decisions to Propel Your Practice” and hosted by Rekon Intelligence CEO, Excel conference chairman and ubiquitous show presence Ross Marino, he began by telling attendees, “the success of a conference is determined by what you do when you get back to your office.”
The author of the “Design to Double” and “Elite Advisor” series guided advisors through the goal-setting process. Using a template from the Full Focus Planner, they followed a blueprint and design a plan of action to achieve three major goals for the coming year.
“2018 was my most productive year ever, and it had nothing to do with financials,” Marino claimed. “I followed a process for clarifying my most productive goals and how to execute.”
He added that he typically writes down more ideas at conferences than he can execute, even over the course of several years. Yet he then separates the “should-dos from the must-dos?”
This helps narrow the three big decisions and translates them into achievable goals over the next year.
“Advisors too often think about should/could, but too many don’t think about why. What are the benefits and consequences of a particular action and what are the results of not taking a particular action? Once decided, what are the challenges to overcome?”
Once advisors “have that down, they can think through it clearly,” Marino said.
A key to it all? Doing it right away.
“Typically, by the second day of the conference they know what their priorities are,” he concluded. “Now it’s a question of going through the steps to achieve their most productive year ever.”
With more than 20 years serving financial markets, John Sullivan is the former editor-in-chief of Investment Advisor magazine and retirement editor of ThinkAdvisor.com. Sullivan is also the former editor of Boomer Market Advisor and Bank Advisor magazines, and has a background in the insurance and investment industries in addition to his journalism roots.